It has been just a little over 6 months since my surgery. The last time I weighed, I had lost 93 pounds. I decided to do something a little different with this update, instead of sounding just like a positive commercial for the procedure, I’m going to talk about some of the NEGATIVE things I’ve experienced, most recently.
Plateau, reaching that point where you aren’t losing weight as rapidly, it can be discouraging. I was weighing every week, and there were a couple of weeks when I didn’t lose anything. Since it had never happened before, I started doing the “what if I don’t lose any more than where I am now? Can I live with that?”. When the scale moved again, I decided that I don’t need to weigh every week. So it is at least every 2 weeks, sometimes more when I weigh. The loss is not as dramatic as it was shortly after the surgery, but it is still coming off.
Connected to the plateau was the “Am I eating too much? Enough?” issue. I came to the conclusion, logically about the plateau that judging by what I was eating, there was no way that I would not continue to lose weight. But then I started worrying about whether I was eating enough. In the past several weeks I have been paying close attention each day to what I eat, and if I feel I’ve been shortchanged on protein or vegetables & fruits I drink a Boost. I was drinking Slim-Fast, but I discovered I like the way Boost tastes better. Anyway, it’s certainly not scientific but at least mentally I feel like I’m doing the best I can to make sure my body is getting what it needs. In addition, I make sure each day that I take those vitamins. When I find myself thinking about some sort of snack or something I ask myself first “Did you take your vitamins today?”
I’m going to give a sample of how I eat each day. Everyone is different, certainly Hilary and I don’t like the same things. Breakfast: Oatmeal or Cheerios Mid morning: Banana (half if it’s big) I’ll also have a cup of non-fat milk if I didn’t have it with my cereal. Lunch: Vegetable soup (I eat a whole can of chunky style) with a few crackers Mid afternoon: sliced turkey, cheese Dinner: Chicken breast, noodles, vegetables Evening: Apple w/peanut butter or milk and a cookie. Throughout the day I also carry around a water bottle with me. They are now making ones that are 65 oz., just perfect. So that’s how I do it on an average day. There are lots of variations. I MISS PEPSI!! So does Hilary. There are those I know who drink sodas, but I’m usually pretty burpy anyway so I don’t want to add to it, and since there is nothing “good” about it, I can live without it. I was probably drinking at least a 6 pack a day before the surgery.
I’ve been so lucky because there doesn’t appear to be anything I can’t eat. There are times I’m more likely to have problems, or some things may cause diarrhea (but less than before the surgery!!!). However, that said, there are things that just don’t taste as good now. It’s still trial and error. The biggest part of it all appears to be changing how my mind works about food. Like my plate doesn’t need to be FULL (I won’t be able to eat it all anyway). It’s ok to take just a little and go back for more if I feel like it (I usually never do). The one thing I taught myself that I’ve really stuck with is asking. “Do I think I’d be full if I eat one more bite?” If the answer is yes, then I stop BEFORE I eat that last bite. It feels uncomfortable when I eat too much and it’s not worth one more bite.
Throwing up isn’t as hard as it was before the surgery, but it’s still not something that I enjoy doing. I seem to be more sensitive to it than Hilary, but then I eat faster than she does, so that contributes. Let’s see I’ve thrown up in a gutter, in a coin cup outside a casino in Las Vegas, and many times in my kitchen sink. It has never happened when I was just totally surprised about it. It is always because I’ve eaten a bite that is too big, or not chewed it small enough. Most often the problem is with meat or chicken. I usually feel it coming, and welcome it because it will relieve the discomfort. My biggest problem is that I usually feel hungry afterward. I try to wait awhile and just drink some milk or eat some yogurt.
On loss… Mostly this has to do with the clothing. I’ve held on to these things for so long it’s been hard to give them up. I refuse to go out and get new stuff because I will only be in it for a short time. I wanted to bring this up because there are things I’ve given up and I found myself sort of mourning the loss. It makes no sense, but considering how long I held on to them, maybe…
So, that’s my 6-month update. These were the things I thought of, I’m sure there are more negative, I just couldn’t think of them right now. Do any of these things make me regret that I had the surgery? Absolutely not! Do the good things I have now outweigh the negatives? Absolutely! Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! My life has changed in so many ways and I am so grateful each and every day I almost can’t describe it.
Wonderful things have been happening for my family. Things not directly related to my surgery, but wonderful just the same. I can remember the last few years just hoping that things would be better next year. 1999 appears to have been our great year! We haven’t made plans for New Year’s Eve yet, but we’re going to the Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Year’s Day. We’ve never been before and we’re really excited.